22Feb 2018 by Fred Crooks No Comments
How to judge your business success

How to judge your business success

Business Advisory, Fundamentals, Small Business
Once you’ve checked your business vitals (see our previous post, Why You Need to Regularly Check Your Business Vitals ) the next step in assessing the health and performance of your organization is to begin comparing your key business metrics with your competitors.Now, every industry has its own challenges, and its own means of measuring success, but there are a few universal standards that can be relied upon when making such comparisons.In particular, you should look at gross profit and break-even analysis.Gross profit is rather simple - it’s your sales minus the cost of goods sold (the direct cost of the production of goods sold or service provided).The break-even analysis, however, is a little more complex. It is designed to help you analyze the various aspects of your business to…
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14Dec 2017 by Fred Crooks No Comments
Is your business ill?

Is your business ill?

Business Advisory, Small Business
When a doctor first examines a patient, they’ll typically check their vital signs. This includes the pulse or heart rate, body temperature, respiration rate, and blood pressure. Taken together, these help indicate the state of the patient’s essential body functions. If any - or all - offer some cause for concern, the doctor can start diagnosing the patient more thoroughly, before suggesting a course of action... And now we’ve arrived at the part where you’re wondering why we’re discussing basic medical practice. Well, this idea of ‘vital signs’ is something that can be comfortably extended to your business. Your company’s financial health should be examined regularly to make sure there are no underlying maladies that will only grow worse if left untreated. Knowing What to Look For These financial ‘vital…
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20Jun 2017 by Fred Crooks No Comments
The Four Biggest Questions You’ll Ask Yourself as a Business Owner

The Four Biggest Questions You’ll Ask Yourself as a Business Owner

Uncategorized
There are many reasons for starting a business.  Perhaps you’ve spotted a gap in the market. Maybe you’ve grown weary of working for someone else. Or it might just be the fulfilment of a lifelong dream to be your own boss. No matter your reason for taking the leap as an entrepreneur, you will encounter a number of concerns as you progress. It’s important that you know how to recognize and handle these concerns so as to avoid derailing your business. In dealing with many small and medium-sized businesses over the years, we have been able to distill some of these concerns down to four of the most common questions. At some point in your business journey, you will find yourself asking a variation of the following: How will I…
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23Feb 2017 by Fred Crooks No Comments
A Guide to Selecting the Right Business Loan

A Guide to Selecting the Right Business Loan

Business Advisory, Business Loans
You might be in front of your laptop in a coffee shop, scribbling notes for a new startup venture. Or maybe you’re between boardroom meetings, planning the growth and expansion of an existing company. No matter where you are in the lifecycle of your business, one thing will always ring true. You will need cash. After all, cash is king. But it’s not always readily available. That’s why it’s fundamentally important that you, as a business leader, understand the ins and outs of business loans. In this series of three posts, we’ll provide you with an overview of the available loan types; the concerns you may experience as a borrower; the various push backs that can come from lenders; the benefits of SBA loans; and the pros and cons of…
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